Oprah Winfrey

"WHAT I KNOW FOR SURE IS THAT WHAT YOU GIVE COMES BACK TO YOU. THAT'S NOT JUST MY THEORY OR POINT OF VIEW - IT'S PHYSICS. LIFE IS AN ENERGY EXCHANGE OF GIVING AND RECEIVING, AND THE WAY TO HAVE WHAT YOU WANT IS TO GIVE WHAT YOU NEED."

Why We Honor Her

A rags to riches story if there ever was one, Oprah Winfrey has used her position as the most influential and successful woman in media to inspire, educate and empower people of all walks of life-- all over the world. There is no one who does not recognize Oprah or who does not know that she stands for reaching out a helping hand on behalf of others-- women, children, the underserved, the voiceless--even animals. Through her foundations, she has supported countless programs in Chicago, throughout the United States and around the world that encourage people to make a difference in the lives of others less fortunate than they.

To date, the Oprah's Angel Network has raised more than $80 million to help educate and empower women and children to believe in themselves, to support people around the globe in pursuing their dreams… and to provide those who are underprivileged and underserved with the means and education to reach their potential. In addition, she has developed programs in Africa for girls, for the violated, and for those afflicted by AIDS. In 2007, she opened the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in South Africa. Her goal is to educate and empower a new generation of women to help lead sub-Saharan Africa towards peace and economic prosperity, and to that end, Oprah herself hand-picked the students—all girls who exhibit leadership skills and a track record of helping others. She knows from her own experience of growing up poor that an investment in girls can pay off in ways never imagined.

Oprah Winfrey has influenced the way women think, talk, eat, study, shop, exercise and lead. She has changed our every day culture and vernacular to include respect for the emotional and spiritual. She has supported the arts, produced and starred in ground-breaking films that challenge stereo-typing of any sort, and single-handedly revolutionized the book industry and the way we read literature through her focus on-- and love of—books and reading.

Oprah is a powerhouse of a woman who has put her talents, efforts, celebrity and money into shining the spotlight onto those throughout the world who are less advantaged than she, acting to help lift them from that situation—thereby proving beyond a doubt that one woman can indeed change the world. Oprah is often described as one of history’s most powerful women —and in enormously impressive and profound ways-- she has used all of her power for good.